A massive cyberattack using leaked NSA exploits has hit 99 countries, and it's still spreading

A huge cyberattack is spreading across the globe, and a software
exploit developed by the National Security Agency seems to be to
blame.

The ransomware, software that encrypts the victim's data and
demands a ransom to unlock it, has spread to
at least 99 countries, from England to Japan, as of Friday.

Among the organisations affected are Britain's National Health
Service, the Spanish telecommunications firm Telefónica, and the
logistics firm FedEx.

The cyberattack has caused chaos across the United Kingdom.
Hospitals have been closed and operations cancelled on short
notice, and medical staffers have resorted to pen and paper to do
work.

Both NHS and Telefónica confirmed the attacks. They said they had
been hit by versions of the so-called WannaCry ransomware that
demands
at least $300.

The reason for the ransomware's virulent spread appears to be its
use of an exploit of Windows software developed by the NSA, an
American intelligence agency. The exploit was leaked online
months ago and patched by Microsoft, but those affected seem not
to have updated their software to install the fix.

The security firm
Avast told CNN it had detected the ransomware in at least 99
countries.

"The ransomware, a version of WannaCry, infects the machine by
encrypting all its files and using a remote command execution
vulnerability through SMB is distributed to other Windows
machines on the same network," the organisation said.

Some 85% of Telefónica's computers have been affected,
according to El Mundo. Portugal Telecom was also hit by a
cyberattack on Friday, but its services weren't affected,
a spokeswoman told Reuters. She didn't say whether it was a
WannaCry attack.